Photo: Roger Cornfoot · CC BY-SA 2.0For violent crime, Dudley trails 79% of UK towns per resident
Shoplifting runs at 4 per 1,000 residents in Dudley, against 1.8 in a typical town its size: police recorded 19 in the 12 months to August 2026. Scored on crimes police recorded inside the town’s built-up area across September 2023 to August 2026, the town lands on C− for safety: #16 of 34 in Tyne and Wear. Police counts work out at 36.6 violent and sexual offences and 11.0 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents annually.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Dudley
More crime than many places its size
Of 706 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000 people, Dudley has the 565th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Haworth, Howden and Amble, higher than South Cave, Warton (Fylde) and Llanbradach. Towns its size ↓
Neighbourhood ranks
31% of Dudley’s residents live in a neighbourhood ranked in the highest-crime 20% of England (Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain), and 0% in the lowest-crime 30%. Neighbourhood ranks ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
The C− for Dudley, and how it is built
A fairly firm grade. Built on 661 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Dudley against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Dudley runs highest on other crime (4 per 1,000 against 1.5), shoplifting (4 per 1,000 against 1.8) and anti-social behaviour (18.1 per 1,000 against 8.8).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 148 | 30.8 | 22.4 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 87 | 18.1 | 8.8 |
| Public order | not graded | 35 | 7.3 | 3.6 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 29 | 6 | 4.5 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 19 | 4 | 1.8 |
| Other crime | not graded | 19 | 4 | 1.5 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 16 | 3.3 | 1.9 |
| Other theft | not graded | 15 | 3.1 | 3.2 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 7 | 1.5 | 2 |
| Robbery | Violent | 7 | 1.5 | 0.2 |
| Drugs | not graded | 2 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 1 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 1 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0.4 |
“Violent” is police.uk’s violence and sexual offences (which includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury), robbery and possession of weapons. Anti-social behaviour isn’t a crime category; shoplifting and other theft happen mostly in shops and town centres rather than to residents, so neither counts in the grade.
September 2025 to August 2026, per 1,000 residents. The tick on each bar is the typical (median) town among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
Dudley is 565th of 706 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bailrigg Lancashire | 4,788 | 4.7 | 2.5 | 7.9 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 56 | Cleadon Tyne and Wear | 4,599 | 9.4 | 8.7 | 5.1 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 257 | Whitburn Tyne and Wear | 5,082 | 19.3 | 8.8 | 15.2 | B |
| … | ||||||
| 383 | Rowlands Gill Tyne and Wear | 5,254 | 21.8 | 12 | 12.3 | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 415 | Sunniside Tyne and Wear | 3,422 | 22.7 | 13.2 | 9.6 | C+ |
| … | ||||||
| 562 | South Cave East Riding of Yorkshire | 4,819 | 37.5 | 9.8 | 2.2 | C |
| 563 | Warton (Fylde) Lancashire | 4,180 | 38 | 9.3 | 4.8 | C− |
| 564 | Llanbradach Gwent | 3,766 | 32.7 | 14.7 | 4.9 | C− |
| 565 | Dudley Tyne and Wear | 4,799 | 36.6 | 11 | 7.7 | C− |
| 566 | St Columb Major Cornwall | 3,663 | 35.8 | 11.7 | 5.9 | C− |
| 567 | Monkton Heathfield Somerset | 4,584 | 38.2 | 9.4 | 16.8 | C− |
| 568 | Pontardawe West Glamorgan | 5,539 | 39.3 | 8.3 | 7.5 | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 706 | Eastchurch Kent | 3,381 | 132 | 13.9 | 3.5 | D− |
Safety letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Dudley, and others in Tyne and Wear.
31% of Dudley residents live in one of England’s highest-crime neighbourhoods
0% of residents live in the lowest-crime 30% of England’s neighbourhoods, and 31% in the highest-crime 20%. The crime domain scores the risk of violence, burglary, theft and criminal damage where people live, so it can read differently from the town-wide rate, which counts crimes where they happened.
Dudley’s residents by the crime decile of their neighbourhood (LSOA, about 1,500 people) in the English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (crime domain), where 1 is the highest-crime 10% of England’s neighbourhoods and 10 the lowest.
Crime in Dudley per 1,000 residents
A crime isn’t a victim: one person can report several, and crimes in a town centre often involve visitors rather than residents.
And about 11 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 8 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
Police name a suspect about as often as across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 71% of Dudley’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 31% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (0% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 6% of violent and 9% of household crimes reached court.
The latest outcome police.uk shows for each crime recorded in the first of the three years (September 2023 to August 2024), so most cases have closed. 235 crimes.
Violent crime held steady over the year
Northumbria Police published two months short or not at all (Jan 2026 and Feb 2026), so the line breaks there and those months are left out of the rates. “Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling twelve-month rate, per 1,000 residents a year (longer windows for smaller places, where a few crimes swing a month). In the 12 months to August 2026 against the 12 before: violent +0% (towns its size +1%), homes and vehicles +20% (towns its size -1%), shoplifting and theft +1% (towns its size +2%), anti-social behaviour -18% (towns its size +0%).
No one died in a collision on Dudley’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 36 collisions with injuries inside Dudley in five years. 5 people were killed or seriously injured: 1 on foot and 1 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people (81%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Dudley is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Dudley’s size at the median for UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people would see about 4 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Dudley had 5.
Casualties are counted where the collision happened, not where people lived: a main road through town adds through-traffic, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Seriously injured uses the Department for Transport’s adjusted figures, which even out the police forces’ different ways of recording injuries. There’s no national rate here: more than half of road deaths in England and Wales (58%) happen outside every town’s built-up area. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), 2021–2025.
Collisions police recorded inside Dudley’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Dudley
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dudley | 4,799 | 36.6 | 11 | C− |
| Seaton Burn | 1,354 | 36.7 | 17.2 | C− |
| Killingworth | 12,180 | 30.2 | 16.1 | C |
| Seghill | 2,799 | 41 | 13.9 | C− |
| Wideopen | 9,150 | 17.7 | 9.7 | B |
| Cramlington | 28,846 | 31 | 14.4 | C |
| Backworth | 4,483 | 34.6 | 17.2 | C− |
| Longbenton | 26,882 | 28.3 | 15.4 | C |
Dudley records more graded crime per resident than 4 of its 7 neighbours. Killingworth, 1.5 miles away, records 30.2 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Dudley’s 36.6.
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three years. Tap a town for its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Some months are short. Northumbria Police published January 2026 and February 2026 only in part or not at all. Those months are left out of the rates, which average the months that were published in full; the raw counts include what was published.
- Where crimes happen, not where victims live. police.uk places each crime at a point near where it happened. Town centres with shops, stations, a hospital and nightlife record more crime per resident, and residents of nearby villages who come in to shop or go out are part of that count.
- Bigger towns record more per resident. Across UK towns, recorded crime per resident rises steeply with size, more than in the U.S., so a city’s grade sits low against the whole UK. The “towns its size” figures show where Dudley sits among towns like it; they are context and don’t change the grade.
- Points are approximate. police.uk moves each point to the nearest of a set of anonymous map points, so crimes near the edge of the built-up area can fall either side of it.
Questions about safety in Dudley
Is Dudley safe?
Police recorded 36.6 violent and sexual offences and 11 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Dudley’s built-up area). That earns a C− for safety: less crime per resident than 24% of UK towns. Among 706 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000 people, Dudley is 565th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Dudley?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime held steady, burglary, vehicle crime and damage rose 20%, shoplifting and theft held steady and anti-social behaviour fell 18%. Across UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Dudley?
Violence & sexual offences: 148 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came public order (35) and criminal damage & arson (29), with 87 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Dudley compare with Newcastle upon Tyne?
Newcastle upon Tyne records 47.8 violent and sexual offences and 24.2 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Dudley’s 36.6 and 11, over the same three years.
Sources: data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain by LSOA (residents from ONS Census 2021) · Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions 2021–2025, points inside the built-up-area boundary · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.